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. 2021 Apr 26;18(9):4598.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094598.

Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Soil Polluted by Lead around Various Metal Mines in China

Jing Shi  1   2 , Ping Du  2 , Huilong Luo  2   3 , Juan Chen  2 , Yunhui Zhang  2 , Minghong Wu  1 , Gang Xu  1
Affiliations

Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Soil Polluted by Lead around Various Metal Mines in China

Jing Shi et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The contamination of soil by lead (Pb) is a serious and widespread problem in China, especially in mining areas. This paper summarized the available data regarding Pb-contaminated soils around various metal mines in China. Based on these data, the Pb concentration in the soil and its temporal and spatial changes were analyzed. Potential ecological hazards and adult lead models were also used to estimate ecological and health risks. The results indicated that the concentration of Pb was closely related with the type of mine. Compared with other types of mine, soil around lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) and tin (Sn) mines with high Pb contents in the metallic ores and high pollutant emission coefficient were more strongly polluted by Pb. The characteristic spatial and temporal variations of Pb pollution status in China were clarified, and the results showed that the concentration was high in the southern, southwestern, and central regions of China where many mining areas were located, and the mean value passed a turning point in 2012. Ecological risk assessments indicated that some areas around mines were at considerable to high risk, and the risk was relatively severe in Pb-Zn mining areas. According to the adult lead model, Pb-Zn mines had a greater impact on blood Pb concentration than the other types of mine.

Keywords: blood lead level; ecological risk; metal mine; pollution characteristics; soil lead.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distributions of sites and different mining areas in China.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Regional distribution of Pb concentrations (East region includes Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces. South region includes Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan provinces. Central region includes Hunan, Hubei and Henan provinces. North region includes Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces. Southwest region includes Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing and Sichuan provinces).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Temporal trend in Pb concentration (mg/kg) in soils in mining areas and annual atmospheric emissions of Pb (t).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pb concentrations in soil around different types of mines.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Ecological risk indexes for different types of mines.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cumulative probabilities of adult blood lead levels in mining areas.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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